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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/25777099">somewhere over the rainbow</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/azurrys/pseuds/azurrys'>azurrys</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Granblue Fantasy (Video Game)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>First Kiss, Fluff, Loyalty, M/M, Post-What Makes the Sky Blue III: 000 (Granblue Fantasy), Rescue, Touch-Starved</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-08-08</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-08-08</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-05 07:15:57</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>1,546</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/25777099</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/azurrys/pseuds/azurrys</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>"Why did you save me?"</p>
<p>Even if Belial had never considered it before, when he met that devoted gaze, he knew what answer he wanted to give Sariel.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Belial/Sariel (Granblue Fantasy)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>4</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>33</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Collections:</b></td><td>Battleship 2020, Battleship 2020 - Red Team</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>somewhere over the rainbow</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><ul class="associations">
      <li>For <a href="https://archiveofourown.org/users/Welsper/gifts">Welsper</a>.</li>



    </ul></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Time was not much of a concept when trapped in a rift between dimensions. That hadn't taken long for Belial to figure out… as much as anything could take time here, anyway.</p>
<p>
He didn't regret it. Of course he would have rather watched the world fall apart to the tune of the symphony he'd worked so hard to compose over those long, hard years, but the consequences of failing were simply that. He'd made his choices; he'd chosen the person he wanted to follow, and he'd walked a path that had at least burned bright, even if it had been snuffed out at the end. He'd been more surprised that he was still so… <em>aware</em>. He'd expected life in the void to involve less thinking, but instead, floating in nothingness that rendered all his senses useless had left him with nothing but time to think.
</p>
<p>
Belial couldn't remember the last time he'd ever spent so long doing nothing.
</p>
<p>
There were the few moments of entertainment he still managed to wring out, at least. The Singularity's unconscious mind was such an easy thing to infiltrate, and teasing them had always been one of Belial's favourite pastimes. He'd managed to conjure a scythe for them from beyond the void! Now that was impressive. But they were taking such a terribly long time to finish forging it, and in the meantime — 
</p>
<p>
There was <em>nothing</em>.
</p>
<p>
There was nothing, until the day there was suddenly light shining into the eyes he'd almost forgotten he had, and a familiar voice echoed in the gloom.
</p>
<p>
"Oh… it worked."
</p>
<p>
The tentative touch that caressed him was gentle, but to his long-disused senses, they were nothing short of a shock. Belial flinched, but rather than stopping, he felt the hands tug harder at him.
</p>
<p>
"Deputy Head? That's you, isn't it? I have something to ask you."
</p>
<p>
"Seriously, Sarry?" Belial gasped aloud, and those were the last words he managed to say before, for the first time in this timeless eternity, his consciousness was finally able to take a break.
</p>
<p>
 
</p><hr/>
<p>
 
</p>
<p>
When Belial woke again, it was to the unfamiliar sensation of warmth. His body felt too heavy and too light all at once — he was being carried, he realised. Strong arms looped over his shoulders and under his knees, gentle but firm in a comforting way. Everything had been weightless in the void. He'd rather missed pressure on his body.
</p>
<p>
He'd missed <em>everything</em> on his body, really. As his awareness returned, so too did all of his senses, in a bombardment of confusing stimuli. The sun's heat seemed to beat down on his skin, its light so bright that his eyes ached; the air was so fresh he could practically taste it; the scent of flowers and chirp of birdsong played the perfect accompaniment to the idyllic scene. After being stripped of all his senses for so long, having all of them back at once was… overwhelming.
</p>
<p>
"You're awake." He knew that voice. It had saved him. Tilting his head up, Belial met Sariel's faint smile. "That's good. I was worried you might not wake up."
</p>
<p>
"Didn't you try to wake me with a kiss, Sarry?" Belial couldn't help but tease, even though questions were starting to flood into his sluggish mind now. He supposed he remembered what had happened, in a sense — Sariel's hands stroking over him, drawing him out of the darkness… but even so, that only deepened the mystery rather than giving him any answers.
</p>
<p>
"No." Sariel, as always, replied with due seriousness. Belial felt the world shift around him as Sariel settled cross-legged on the ground, keeping Belial against him. Belial was content with that; his limbs still felt weak and boneless. He wouldn't trust his legs to work if he stood. "Is that how you wake people up?"
</p>
<p>
Belial didn't even try to hold back his laughter. "One of many ways." Even speaking felt foreign — the movement of his throat, the sound of his own voice. In the void, his throat had worked, but he hadn't felt it.
</p>
<p>
"I see." Sariel nodded, hair falling over his shoulders at the motion and brushing over Belial's cheek. The soft, ticklish sensation had him sucking in a deep breath. "Will you tell me the other ways later? I want to know… oh. Before that, Deputy Head — "
</p>
<p>
"Use my name, Sarry." 
</p>
<p>
"Huh?" Sariel blinked, then nodded. "Belial…" He said the name as if he was unsure, but Belial smiled. He liked the way it sounded on Sariel's tongue — solemn and melodic. "I have another question."
</p>
<p>
Belial waited for him to go on, but he didn't. Was he waiting for Belial to answer him first? After he'd gone through the trouble of hunting him down and literally carrying him out of the void, this was what made him pause? Belial was tempted to laugh, but at the same time, there was a lump in his throat that seemed to stop his words up. How ridiculous. He finally had the chance to speak after having his voice taken by the void, and he couldn't find the words. 
</p>
<p>
A silver-tongued serpent indeed.
</p>
<p>
"Go on then, Sarry." When he finally brought himself to answer, the words were much softer than he'd meant them to be. "Ask me." 
</p>
<p>
Sariel's serious nod made his hair slide over Belial's cheek again, the slight touch distracting in a way that Belial couldn't pin down. He stared straight into Belial's eyes when he spoke, and the earnest gaze seemed to bore into him.
</p>
<p>
"Why did you save me?"
</p>
<p>
Ah. Of course Sariel wouldn't hesitate to pop a heavy one. 
</p>
<p>
"Why did I?" Belial repeated, slow and languid, as if he was tasting each word. Truthfully, he'd never thought about it. When he'd done so, he'd still been operating under the assumption that his plan with Lucilius was coming to fruition. Why, indeed, save someone when the world was about to come to its end? Surely it would have been more merciful to let him die instead.
</p>
<p>
Still, even if he'd never considered it before… when he met that devoted gaze, he knew what answer he wanted to give Sariel.
</p>
<p>
Compliant as always, Sariel neither pulled away nor flinched when Belial splayed his hand over the back of his neck, nudging his head downwards. Sariel's shadow fell over him, but the sunlight scattered golden highlights over his skin and hair, framing him like a halo. Behind him, the sky was blindingly blue. 
</p>
<p>
"This is why, Sarry."
</p>
<p>
With those words, Belial closed the distance between them.
</p>
<p>
Sariel's lips were shockingly soft. Belial genuinely couldn't remember the last time he'd kissed someone so pliant, and not just because he'd taken a trip to a timeless void between this and his last kiss. Sariel was still against him for a few long moments, eyes wide and questioning; but when Belial pressed in deeper, he seemed to pick up on the hint. Gratified when Sariel tentatively leaned closer, Belial sank a hand into his hair, relishing the silkiness between his fingers.
</p>
<p>
Belial made his kisses a little more intense, usually — more heat and tongue and teasing — but this was Sariel, after all. He had to be gentle for him to start with. He kept it chaste, resisting the urge to nibble on those plush lips, reminding himself that he could save that for later. This first kiss was something to be savoured slowly. 
</p>
<p>
Even though he'd kept it gentle, Sariel still looked overwhelmed when they parted. It was a good look on him. "I've never touched anyone like that before." It was endearing, the way Sariel pressed his fingers to his lips in confusion. Belial laughed, reaching up to cover Sariel's hands with his, and he felt the gust of Sariel's breath against his fingers. "Was that the answer? I don't understand."
</p>
<p>
"Don't worry, you'll understand soon." Belial wasn't sure if he was saying the words for Sariel or himself. He needed a bit of time himself for these new realisations — the unfamiliar warmth in his heart, the way he couldn't seem to take his eyes off Sariel or bring himself to move. Sariel was solid against him, breath tickling over his skin. Had he always been so warm? His hair so soft? 
</p>
<p>
Sariel hummed thoughtfully in answer, and Belial felt his lips curve into a smile against his fingers. "I don't understand, but… I liked it."
</p>
<p>
The sincerity in Sariel's words was so very sweet. He didn't pull away from Belial as he dropped his hand from his lips, instead turning over so that he could lock their fingers together. "This is nice." Sariel's tone was dreamy, eyes faraway and distant. "Can we stay like this a while?"
</p>
<p>
Leaning back against Sariel's shoulder, Belial turned his head up to the sky. He remembered wanting to paint that vast, unmarred stretch of blue a different colour. He didn't regret that — destruction had been wonderfully fun. 
</p>
<p>
But right now, Belial was much more content to relax in Sariel's arms, getting reacquainted with how nice it was to be able to feel again. There would be consequences to deal with eventually, but not today. Not while he had a new lease on life and a sweet fallen angel to thank for it.
</p>
<p>
"We can stay as long as you want, Sarry."
</p>
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